CUPECOY--K1 Britannia Foundation’s Disaster Relief and Crisis Team – K1 DIRECT – will be hosting two consecutive six-day training courses facilitated by Jacob “Sjaak” Seen, Multidisciplinary Operational Team Leader of the United Nations Disaster Assessment and Coordination (UNDAC) team.
The courses will run until April 12 and will feature a series of workshops, trainings and bonding activities that will effectively equip volunteers with the tools and expertise needed to successfully manage emergency disaster situations.
Programme Manager Alan Schet elaborated, “K1 DIRECT has committed to play specific roles in the disaster planning, specifically in St. Maarten in regard to distribution, first response, and shelters. Additionally, K1 DIRECT has committed to play specific roles in the neighbouring countries in order to effectively fill these needs, and therefore the volunteers must be equipped with all necessary trainings.
Nine K1 DIRECT Curaçao volunteers and Jacob “Sjaak” Seen arrived in St. Maarten on Sunday, March 31. On Monday, April 1, they started week one with full-day trainings alongside partners such as representatives of the Dutch Caribbean Coast Guard, Windward Islands Emergency Medical Services (WIEMS) and a few K1 DIRECT members from St. Maarten.
The trainings are hosted at American University of the Caribbean (AUC) School of Medicine at no cost to the foundation. In week two, from Sunday, April 7 to Friday, April 12, K1 DIRECT will repeat the disaster response mission cycle training in half-day sessions with participants such as K1 DIRECT St. Maarten volunteers, representatives of the government’s Emergency Support Function 7 (social services), and the Dutch marines.
Approximately 40 participants will be taking part in the training. The course will cover Principles of Humanitarian Aid, Disaster and Crisis Management, Search and Rescue Phase, Emergency Logistics, and many other topics. The topics that will be discussed and the expected lessons that will be learned will help all volunteers and others attending the training.
All participants, including those from other response organisations, will receive a certificate after successfully completing the course.
This course is one of the first international trainings organised by K1 DIRECT, which is looking forward to continuous support and partnerships that will strengthen the team.
K1 DIRECT’s founding sponsors that help to make training courses such as this possible are Carnival Cruise Line and the Dutch Disaster Fund.
For more information about K1 Britannia Foundation and K1 DIRECT, visit their website
www.k1britanniafoundation.org, their Facebook page
www.facebook.com/k1sxm, send an email to
This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it. or call +(1) 721-543-3332.
